Mass Effect: Imprints, Instincts, and Memories
by Diabo
Summary: Project Lazarus has failed.  Cerberus believed that they could rebuild Shepard, take his body and recreate the man.  Memories are impossible to recreate.  But are all of his memories really gone, destroyed, or merely under the surface?  Not one bit canon
1. Chapter One: 'Deserted' Colony

**Author's notation:**

This is what I hope to become a better 'version' of Project Lazarus Status: Partial Failure. Why did I delete the entire old story as opposed to merely edit it anyone who may have read it might ask? Because it was so 'broken' when I reviewed it again that I found it laughable. This isn't just a new coat of paint on the story, a few new words added to each chapter so that I can say I've redone it. This is a brand new monster. Hear, It, Roar.

* * *

><p><em>John Kahril Shepard, <em>that was what they told him his name was.

His entire body rocked ever so slightly in the shuttle as it maneuvered towards their target, a faint speck which grew in the window he observed.

_Commander Shepard, Hero of the Citadel _was the title that a galaxy he had supposedly saved knew him by…. Had mourned him by. He was the only man ever to have come back from death after so long. Two years had come and gone, while he lay comatose or worse on an operating table. The rest of the galaxy still referred to him in the past tense, that he had been a good man, soldier, or friend. It was strange to think about it… They knew more about him then he did.

He shifted slightly against the seat of the shuttle as he let his view wander to the stars that surrounded the planet, in a detached manner he wondered if the planet had any moons that he would see as they approached.

_A colonist of Mindoir, the sole survivor of thresher maws on Akuze, N7 Special forces soldier._ That was just the beginning of the dossier on the datapad in his hand. Much of the rest was considered a part of history, the hunt for the rogue Turian Spectre, Saren. Noveria, Feros, Virmire, Ilos, The Citadel. The names resonated within his mind, but only went far enough to remind him of how little he remembered.

He turned the datapad off, pushing down a hidden button in its frame with his thumb as he leaned back and studied the two Cerberus operatives in front of him. The woman had been silent for the better part of the trip. It wasn't a comfortable silence, as it seemed to have been borne of her knowing that she had failed her task. The other Cerberus operative was also silent, though it was much less intimidating than the woman's was. It was less disappointed, less demanding that he try to remember what he had been.

_They spent two years, and twelve days to try and bring me back as I was, with all my memories. _Shepard thought to himself suddenly. That was a long time, the two people in front of him had invested a sizeable chunk of their own lives to try and bring him back to his. Plus something like four billion credits, which he could immediately tell was an incredible amount of money.

But it seemed like modern medicine could only do so much, go so far. He was sure that the gray matter that they had managed to scrape off the planet his remains had been recovered on wasn't exactly perfectly preserved. It was a miracle that he could breathe, walk, talk and especially _think_ after his body had been burnt to a crisp on reentry into a planet's atmosphere. Hell, he had even managed to fight, the motions seeming natural when he had the pistol in his hand back on the station.

The female Cerberus operative… Miranda Lawson, seemed quite unhappy with it though. She struck him as a perfectionist, unhappy with the fact that her resurrection of him hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped, though in reality it had gone beyond every expectation Shepard himself would have had for the project. It seemed so impossibly unlikely to him that it almost made him laugh. Miranda wanted to bring him back to life from a charred corpse, with every single memory and personality trait wholly intact, even though nobody had been brought back so far in the history of medicine.

His mind felt strange as the thought crossed it. How did he know that it had never happened before, why was he so sure? Trying to second-guess himself didn't help, because he knew it was true.

Suddenly, Miranda spoke up. "Nothing, Commander?" It was a question she had asked every once in a while, adamant at first that his memories might come back to him in time, though it had seemed to transform gradually to a resignation that he would say nothing.

"Nothing." Shepard said finally, looking back towards the planet that the shuttle was destined for. It had tripled in size, from looking like a tiny dot to something the size of a golf ball at arms distance. "Or at least… Nothing that matters." Shepard said with a shrug, his mind in wonder at the comparison that had sprung into his mind.

The second Cerberus operative, Jacob suddenly spoke up. "The Commander still has his combat skills Miranda. I'm telling you that he was ripping through the mechs back on the station without a problem. That's got to count for something."

Miranda sighed, nodding slightly. "But fine tuning his motor skills wasn't nearly as difficult as the reconstruction processes we used on any one section of the brain. Reflexes are only a tiny part of the nervous system, as it stands, we've just brought back a single soldier, an incredibly advanced and effective soldier, with all the cybernetic implants and other modifications that we gave him, but still only a soldier. I was supposed to bring back Shepard exactly as he was, the first human Spectre, the one who saved the Citadel. Not to make a four-billion credit soldier."

Jacob gave a single curt nod after Miranda had finished speaking. The two operatives had nothing against Shepard, save the fact that he wasn't the Shepard that they had hoped for. He couldn't help but agree with them in that respect. He wasn't exactly certain that he would be up to the task of destroying the 'Reapers', the giant machine-race that he had supposedly stopped before during the Battle of the Citadel.

"The Illusive Man says that we're to follow your orders Commander." Miranda said after a moment, looking at Shepard once again. "Even if your memory isn't intact, we're hoping that you might still be useful in a command position. What are your orders Commander?"

After Miranda turned Shepard looked back out the window at the rapidly approaching planet, Freedom's Progress. If what had happened to all the other colonies was happening here, every man, woman, and child would have disappeared over the course of two or three days.

"We look for anyone who's still there, and then for any other evidence. Security footage, maybe." Shepard responded after a moment's thought. If there was anyone left on the planet, they would be able to tell the story of what happened better than anything else could. Lacking that, video evidence would be their next best bet.

"There wasn't anyone left at the other colonies." Miranda said simply. "No reason to believe that we'll find anyone here."

Shepard didn't acknowledge the statement, leaving his orders as they were. Jacob nodded slightly after a few seconds of silence. "It'd be good to see somebody down there… Anything's better than another colony vanishing without a trace."

Shepard nodded absently as he watched as they drew ever closer to the colony. The entire shuttle began to vibrate slightly, and Shepard reached for the helmet that he had set in the seat next to him, staring at the tinted faceplate for a second before he put it on.

Faintly, he saw the friend/foe identification system flicker on, identifying Jacob and Miranda in faint lettering when he focused on either of them.

"Weapons safe." He said simply as he pulled his own weapon out of the locker mounted in the side of the shuttle, checking that the rifle had a thermal magazine inserted and had an ammo block in.

_We don't want to accidentally kill a witness by assuming hostiles. Especially if they might be the only one on the whole planet…_

* * *

><p>Prazza'Vedro wasn't someone who Tali could respect. Yes, he was the squad leader for this strike team. But he knew <em>nothing<em> about how to be an effective commander. The concepts of it, he had down. But he lacked in execution for every order, never clarifying himself, ignoring the advice that other veteran Migrant Fleet Marines gave him. His overconfidence and incompetence put together had already sent four of the strike team back to the shuttle, nursing injuries from security mechs. _Security mechs._ They walked in a straight line forward, never bothering to take cover or to attack the quarians with anything other than the weapons in their hands.

If he were to ever face an enemy with any intelligence… Prazza would find himself very dead, very fast. He was too linear, unwilling to adapt to the situation. They couldn't possibly encourage that in basic training for the Migrant Fleet Marines, let alone for the commanders for their strike teams.

Tali accessed the map of the area quickly, watching as it flashed up across her visor. The route that they were taking had a parallel path that a second team could take to easily flank the enemies concentrated around the next position they wanted to take on their path to Veetor.

"Prazza. Look at this." Tali said simply, forwarding the map to him over a private communications link.

She watched as his pace slowed slightly as he looked at the photo that had been taken from orbit. It seemed to take him too long to reply, and when he did it made her further question his leadership. "What…?"

A turn of her wrist, and a moment of deft control with her omni-tool and Tali lit up what she wanted Prazza to see. "If I could lead a small squad, no more than myself and three others, we could flank the next position and take any mechs out much more easily."

For a moment, it seemed as though Prazza wouldn't allow it, she saw his posture stiffen. It had happened before, where although others had good advice he would see it as an affront to his 'authority' and deny whatever he had been told. But at the crucial moment, he gave a single nod. "Take Amri, Telk, and Quala." He said quickly. Within just another moment, the three other quarians were standing before Tali, each nodding slightly as she looked to them. "Keep in contact so that we're sure to hit the mechs at the same time." Prazza said simply, nodding slightly as he and the larger group began to move again.

Only a moment had passed before one of the three quarians under Tali's command gave a sigh of relief. Telk, a veteran of seven years in the Migrant Fleet was shaking his head slightly. "It's only a matter of time before that bosh'tet gets somebody killed." He said, voice conveying how happy he was to be sure that he wouldn't be the victim of that poor command.

Amri and Quala both nodded, to Tali's surprise, it hadn't seemed like the rest of the strike team had been so disappointed with Prazza's leadership.

"Can't blame you. Besides, I want the right to say that I served under the Flotilla's hero, instead of under the newest squad leader that our strike operations team has." Amri said, checking his rifle, flicking the safety on and off. "I'm sure that Quala will be sharing the fact with her heshla as soon as she touches the com-link back on the ship." He said, his voice betraying the grin under his mask.

Quala merely made a rude gesture, at which Amri laughed. "At least I have a hesh'la back on the Flotilla to talk to Amri. Or are you going to tell me that you're sure you've bonded with your rifle?" Quala said when Amri finally stopped. Telk gave a low whistle at the remark, and Tali made a noise of amusement herself. Amri hung his head in defeat, surrendering his hold of the conversation.

Their walk continued in silence for another few minutes… Eerie silence, given the buildings surrounding them. By all rights the colony should have been full of activity, filled with people carrying on their lives. The light footfalls of the quarians were the only sound that Tali could hear, even with her audio-receivers turned way up. The other marines seemed to notice it as well, and within only a few moments, they began talking amongst themselves again to try and ward off the silence.

It was light banter for the most part, strongly echoing the few words spoken earlier. For the most part, Tali found herself merely listening, feeling unable to be truly involved with the others. They had all been part of the same strike team for months, and she was just a temporary addition for this single assignment… The easy talking, laughter, and company that Telk, Amri, and Quala all had with one another reminded her of-

Tali cut off the thought before it could even fully form in her mind, closing her eyes and taking a single deep breath to try and clear it from her mind.

Yes. Those few months had been among the best of her life. She had to think long and hard about whether she would stay on her Pilgrimage or return to her people, but the decision was made for her in a single instant when every reason she had to stay was torn away from her in an instant. Until the instant that the last escape pod to deploy from the Normandy reported in, Tali hadn't realized just how much Shepard had mattered in that decision.

Her throat felt like it was about to close, just as it had in the memory that leapt unbidden to her mind as she remembered waiting sitting the escape shuttle, listening intently to the short-range transmitter.

"_W-What do you mean he isn't in the escape pod, Joker?" Tali asked, the shock in her voice echoing that in the faces of the rest of the crew in her escape pod. Joker's voice had been flat. when he had reported in. The next words were halting, laced with self-loathing._

"_I… The Commander, he… He didn't make it. I watched him get spaced… It was my fault. If I hadn't… Fuck." The sound of something hitting a bulkhead weakly echoed over the transmitter before silence took over._

_Tali's whole world seemed to collapse in that moment. She had been about to talk with him, about to ask if she could possibly become a permanent crewmember of the Normandy. But… The yes or no answer hadn't been what she most anticipated about the conversation. She knew, **knew**, that he would try to make sure that it really was what she wanted._

_She wanted his undivided attention, to have him focusing on only her for a few moments. Since the Battle of the Citadel, Shepard had been overwhelmed with requests for reports even as he continued to spearhead the fight against the Geth. To just be able to talk with him like she had during the hunt for Saren. His natural perception of people was what made him a leader…_

_If only he could have noticed what Tali couldn't bring herself to tell him… If only she could have talked to him for a while, maybe he would have caught on, said something. As Tali tried to work the recycled air of her envirosuit into her lungs, she felt the first of many tears welling up in her eyes. She had never told him how she had felt, never even been in a situation where he might have guessed it when she was sure of it herself. She would never know his answer about if he felt anything of the sort._

"Tali'Zorah, where is your squad?" Prazza's voice suddenly cut through the memory, the suddenness of it stopping Tali in her tracks for a moment, shaking off the cold grip that the memory had on her mind.

Wordlessly, she 'pinged' their location on the same map that she had shown Prazza earlier, still a good distance away from their goal. "Still quite a while away. Five, maybe ten minutes. Why?" She asked when Prazza remained silent.

"A shuttle is touching down, right here." Another location pinged on the map, a decent distance away, but clearly closer to her own squad than to those under Prazza. "It's a model that the Alliance military uses, but there were no hailing frequencies, like they expected that nobody was here. Whoever it is could be a lot more dangerous than any mechs. I want you to check it out."

Tali nodded to herself, beginning to search the map for any choke points that were between the Quarians and these new arrivals. Within a minute, she found one, behind a huge set of doors that functioned to keep districts separate.

"We have new orders." Tali said, surprising Telk, Amri, and Quala after her silence for the past ten minutes.

After explaining briefly, Telk rolled his neck and patted his rifle. "Nothing can ever be simple, can it?" He half-asked, half-stated, his tone mildly amused.

* * *

><p>The shuttle landed gently, after only a little bit of chop during entry into the planet's atmosphere. Somehow, Shepard thought that it would have been worse, although not for a second was he concerned that the shuttle would merely crash into the surface of the planet. Odd, how natural it felt for him to climb out of the shuttle, assault rifle pointing out while he scanned for anything hostile before he even touched the ground. Granted, the doorway did feel a bit big,<p>

_All of this seems as natural as breathing… Should it?_ Shepard wondered to himself as he looked down at the weapon in his hands. Miranda had said that his combat prowess was from 'imprints' in his mind, reinforced by the fact that his nervous system was 'optimized for such movements'. His body seemed to be designed for combat… And that fact put him ill at ease.

On second thought… Having those skills was probably a very good thing if he was going to merely be thrust into situations like this over and over. While he didn't exactly like being used as a tool, there wasn't much else that he could do. The fact that nobody outside of Cerberus knew that he was even alive meant that there wasn't really any means of 'escape' from the organization.

"Radio silence from here out, unless we run into something." Shepard muttered into his helmet as the Cerberus operatives took positions around the door to the first building that they had decided to move through on their sweep of the colony. Even as he gave the order, he could hear the clicks as Miranda and Jacob both cut their com-links to his suit. Shepard holstered his rifle, and unholstered the machine pistol that he had been give, which freed up a hand to unlock the door using his omni-tool.

The prefab unit's lights flickered on, obvious on a circuit with motion detectors. Stepping into the single-room unit, Shepard scanned the room briefly before holstering his pistol, though he kept his hand close to it. There were two trays of half-eaten food on a table, as if whoever had been here had just gotten up and left in a moment. The silence that Shepard noticed, that he could hear his own footsteps as well as those of the Cerberus operatives disturbed him.

_It feels… Wrong._ Shepard concluded as he opened the door opposite the one he had come in by. He kept his hand mere inches away from his pistol as took a step outside, surveying the other buildings in front of him. They were all dark, unmoving, silent.

Then something caught his eye, movement. It was some type of mech… Not one that he had encountered back on the Cerberus station. It looked like a large robotic… Dog? It seemed to have noticed him, and began running at him. Small arcs of blue electricity were flashing across it's optical plate, probably meant to incapacitate or overload shields, rather than to kill.

Shepard's hand dropped to his pistol, and he fired a long burst from his hip before the mech had gotten more than twenty feet. Three of the rounds went straight through the mech's 'head', instantly destroying whatever hardware kept it functional. Its body skidded towards him another few feet, before settling and setting off a low-yield explostion.

Shepard frowned; he hadn't been expecting any fighting at all on this reconnaissance mission. Hadn't Miranda said that the defense systems had been disabled on every other colony? He turned around to find both her and Jacob right behind him, weapons drawn, scanning for other hostiles. "Some type of mech charged at me. I thought you said that all of the defense systems would be down?"

"They should be. They were on every other colony that was hit." Miranda said slowly lowering her own weapon when she seemed confident that the area was clear. She brought up her omni-tool briefly, looking at the data. "Freedom's Progress has quite a compliment of FENRIS and LOKI mechs… You probably just encountered the former Commander. It is standard for them to be programmed to explode when rendered combat ineffective." She said as she eyed the small crater that had been left behind.

Jacob grinned ever so slightly at the fact. "Already we're seeing that this colony is a bit different from the rest, might be that the colonists actually managed to put up a bit of a fight this time."

"It might just mean that whoever, or whatever is doing this is just switching tactics, or leaving nasty surprises behind for whoever comes to investigate." Miranda shot back before Shepard could say anything.

Jacob gave a half-shrug. "It could be." He said after a moment, grimacing slightly.

"Let's hope that it's the former. If the mechs are still active, there might be survivors maintaining them, waiting for another… Attack, as it is." Shepard said slowly as he surveyed his surroundings. The colony couldn't be described as being in the aftermath of any type of attack. There weren't any marks that showed that any deadly weapon was used anywhere, of bodies, there was nothing but the colony itself. The only strange thing was the emptiness and silence that pervaded.

"As it is, we know that the mechs are hostile, and that the colony has more than a few of them." Shepard said after another moment's reflection, noticing that he still hadn't holstered his own pistol. Just before he could make a comment that the team would be allowed to go weapons hot, he heard sounds of gunfire in the distance. Immediately his head snapped to look in the direction of the sound, the grip on his pistol tightening slightly.

It sounded like a _lot_ of gunfire.

"It seems that we're not alone, Commander." Miranda said needlessly. Shepard acknowledged the statement with a slight nod.

"At least we know where we're going." Jacob commented dryly as they began to walk in the direction that the sounds of battle were coming from.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for Tali and her squad to get to the choke point that they wanted to be at. They even had time to set up the area in their favor, to even the odds a bit if the shuttle had been full of hostiles. Quala had set herself up seventy meters or so away with a clear scope on the area. Telk and Amri both had their own positions from which they could set up crossfire on the entrance with assault rifles. And finally, Tali had positioned herself near the center of it all.<p>

Her own kinetic barriers were far more powerful than any of the others, so being out in the open for a few seconds of combat didn't concern her overmuch… She doubted that it would have concerned her much even if they weren't. It was probably just a group of looters, who were already running in the opposite direction after hearing the battle between the rest of the strike team and the mechs. But, if they were hostiles, the same gunfire might draw them immediately right into the small ambush the four Quarians had set up, and Tali was fairly certain that the four of them could do a number on them.

As the minutes dragged on, Tali began to drum her fingers along the side of her shotgun. She wasn't afraid, anxious, or nervous. She just wanted this to be done. To encounter whoever it was that had just come, or to watch as their shuttle went away. It didn't matter which, she just preferred anything to the silence that pervaded.

Amri coughed over the communications link, and she flicked her eyes in his direction just as gunfire erupted nearby. Her grip tightened around her shotgun and her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked forwards again. Whoever had been in that shuttle had probably just encountered a small group of mechs. Maybe that would make them more wary of their surroundings, which could be very bad if they were indeed hostile.

Tali cleared her mind, took the deep breaths that would calm her muscles and better her aim, and shifted her shotgun to a slightly better position against her shoulder. Not ten seconds later, a human turned around a corner, pistol in hand. She raised up her own gun even as the man was lowering his own and putting a hand to the side of his helmet, obviously talking on a communication link similar to the type that she and the rest of the strike-team was using.

He was fitted out in what looked like the N7 armor… Special operations, pitch black and non-reflective, the thin strip of visor on the helmet tinted as well. Tali could tell that there were multiple other weapons on his back, holstered by magnetic clasps. Then her eyes traveled to the insignia on the armor, _Cerberus_. It was all she could do to restrain herself from pulling the trigger as two other humans came stepped out into the opening, their own weapons up.

"What are you doing here?" The woman asked, even as she trained the heavy pistol on Tali. Neither of the two other humans was wearing armor of any description. Either it meant that they merely had a single person for 'point' to absorb all enemy fire, or they were powerful enough biotics to have barriers that might deflect the rounds just as effectively. Much as her trigger finger itched, of all the people who might know what had happened to this human colony, they were the most likely.

"We're looking for one of our people, who was on Pilgrimage here. The Flotilla was very near a Mass Effect Relay when Freedom's Progress went silent. We're a part of the strike team sent to retrieve him. He fled to another part of the colony when we landed though, reprogrammed the mechs. We're working on getting through them and extracting him. What is Cerberus here for…?" Tali asked, the malice in her voice only reflecting on the last sentence.

Tali relaxed as the human woman's pistol lowered, her example followed by the unarmored man a second later. "We're looking for explanations to why everybody is gone. Survivors are our first priority, footage of what happened is our second…" She turned to the armored human. "Looks like you were right Commander." She said, her voice flat, as though she had been proven wrong.

Somehow, the woman didn't seem to notice how incredible tense the man in full armor was. Even through the armor, Tali could see that muscles were clenched together, working themselves silently. Tali found herself gripping her own shotgun more tightly as the silence ensued for another moment. "Commander…?" The woman asked again, concerned by the lack of response. Suddenly, the man seemed to relax, going so far as to sway slightly as he took a step forwards, ignoring the woman as he took a deep breath before speaking.

"… Tali'Zorah… Nar Rayya?"

Tali's jaw dropped in her helmet, she found herself unable to reply as she registered the voice. There was no way… Her mind must just be playing cruel tricks on her, maybe she was having a breakdown of some sort, maybe… Her heart was somewhere in her throat as she watched his hands go up to his helmet. Every prayer to the ancestors that had ever gone through her mind seemed paltry compared to the unspoken one that ran through her mind now, that echoed in every fiber of her being. That when the helmet came off, it would be him, that it really would be Shepard.

His suit hissed briefly as the airtight seal was broken, and Tali managed to get a single breath past the lump in her throat as he started to lift it. She closed her eyes briefly, hoping that it might alleviate the anxiety that was building. Breathing out slowly, she opened her eyes, and felt her heart jump again.

In front of her stood Commander Shepard, literally, back from the grave.

"S-Shepard…? You're… Alive?"

* * *

><p>Post-Script (Which merely means after the main body of text. An afterthought. The more you know.)<p>

Comments, concerns, thoughts, problems, issues? Review the story, send me a private message, do what needs to be done followers of fanfiction. I'll answer what I can for you, take your glowing reviews with pride, steam over the ones that denounce me, so on and so forth. Another chapter is on the way, for better or for worse.

* * *

><p>Post-Post-Script<p>

There's going to be a lot on Quarian culture in this story. I'll take bits and pieces from where I've seen what I like. I really wish that I could credit all the great stuff I've seen regarding their culture on here, but to be honest I just can't recall where everything I've heard/seen came from.


	2. Chapter Two: Pushing New Limits

**Authors's Notation:**

**Well, my little break is now over, (as of 2/6/12). As Mordin would say, it appears that a crisis was averted. Expect to see a few small edits in the chapter, as well as another chapter up in the next week or so. As it is, I've got a bit of editing in already for this chapter. Only a few minutes worth of it, but I hope that it helps.**

* * *

><p>Déjà vu. <em>The word ran through Shepard's mind as he tried to find a term to explain exactly what was running through his mind. There was no full memory, but the voice seemed so familiar, and the name came to his mind after only a moment's thought. Speaking her name, and taking his helmet off had been actions that came to him naturally. But now… He had absolutely no idea what to do.<em>

"What… Happened, Shepard? Where were you, how could you…" Tali's voice quivered with a half-dozen emotions at once.

How could he even try to explain what had happened, given the fact that he wasn't entirely sure? Could he explain that he wasn't the same person as she thought he was…? Or he the same person that she thought he was…? He opened his mouth slightly, but closed it after only another second when he failed to find any words that could properly explain himself.

Tali seemed to have taken the same time to collect herself for a single blunt question. "Why Cerberus… Shepard?"

Another few seconds elapsed before Miranda suddenly spoke, startling both Shepard and Tali. "The Commander is with Cerberus because we spent the past two year resurrecting him. Our organization poured virtually unlimited resources into him… Billions of credits, bleeding edge technology, an entire cell of Cerberus working for his resurrection. This is only the second day that he's been alive in two years and thirteen days."

Luminescent eyes widened behind the visor. "You… Actually died then?" Tali asked slowly, looking back to Shepard.

Again, Miranda suddenly spoke. "Yes. He died during the attack on the Normandy, his hardsuit was compromised and his body nearly disintegrated upon entry into Alchera's atmosphere. It's… Almost surprising that he recovered to the point that he did."

"What do you mean..?"

"At best, the Commander will retain his personality, maybe take subconscious queues from time to time from one of the imprints we tried to put in his mind. As it stands, we're not quite sure if we can expect even that." Miranda said evenly, discussing him as though he weren't standing next to her.

Shepard found himself looking down to avoid the questioning eyes of the quarian. To have someone else who knew more about who he was than he himself did was disconcerting, especially as he wondered if she were judging him right now. Examining his actions and determining that he was either the person that she remembered him as, or someone different, who she would probably look down upon because of it.

_But… I don't have to be what I was._ The thought suddenly crossed Shepard's mind. Miranda, The Illusive Man, even Tali'Zorah, they all wanted him to be exactly that, what he had been. Soldier, Commander, Hero et cetra so on and so forth. But if he wasn't all those things, he wouldn't be able to change that, by no fault of his own.

_Pass your judgements then. Regardless of what you choose, I get to keep living. Not a bad deal._ Shepard thought to himself as he grinned slightly, squaring his shoulders as he put his helmet back on.

A deep breath steeled Shepard before he spoke. "Regardless, I do know that we've all got a similar objective right now. Getting your person off this colony, without getting ourselves killed in the process. If he knows anything about what's going on here, we could use the intel. And I'm sure that you could use the extra people to get through the mechs."

"Definitely." Tali nodded, opening her omni-tool for a brief second. "Patch into channel one seven two theta, look through some of the data we've collected on the colony, I've got to report to Prazza." She said even as she turned, head cocked slightly to the side as she appeared to begin to talk over a link.

Miranda had turned to Jacob and begun speaking in low tones with him. He was probably the subject, but Shepard didn't much want to hear whatever was being said. As it was, Miranda seemed to refer to him as an object. That 'like-Commander-Shepard' over there, not just 'Shepard', and it wasn't something that he particularly liked listening to. As he began walking, movement suddenly caught his eye. Two other quarians were pulling themselves from cover. One from inside a prefab unit across a chasm was pulling a sniper rifle off a table , and a second standing from a prone position where two crates had been pushed together, leaving only enough space between them for a very restricted line of fire to the gateway.

Shepard raised an eyebrow under his helmet. These Quarians didn't mess around… It would have been a tough fight if everything hadn't gone so smoothly. No matter how powerful Miranda and Jacob's biotics, or his own shields, enough accurate rounds on target would have been bad for their health.

"If it was anybody but Tali'Zorah telling me that I had to work with Cerberus. I wouldn't follow their orders." There was no attempt to conceal the malice under the voice.

Shepard folded his arms across his chest as he turned to the source of the voice, a third quarian, assault rifle in hand. "Why would that be?" He asked calmly. He had noticed the distaste in Tali's voice when she had seen Cerberus' insignia before, though it had all but disappeared after he had shown his face. It hadn't occurred to him until now that the Cerberus might not be what its operatives claimed it to be.

The quarian let out a short laugh. "Because she's the Flotilla's hero. Stopped the geth, stopped a lot of Cerberus operations, showed the galaxy what we could do even if they ignored it. Under Captain Shepard Vas Normandy, she killed more Cerberus operatives than anyone else on the Flotilla."

"Captain Shepard Vas Normandy?" Shepard found himself asking, raising an eyebrow. Did Cerberus and him have a history of fighting against one another…? Why they wouldn't tell him was obvious… But the fact that they didn't meant that it had been a concern, and that they didn't want him to know about it. Shepard could literally feel his distrust of Cerberus beginning to grow as the quarian responded.

"Commander Shepard, Captain Shepard, the Hero of the Citadel, whatever you want to call him. She fought next to him for months, only human Captain I've ever heard so much about." Shepard noticed that the hostile edge was fading from the quarian's voice.

"Why all the hate towards Cerberus…?" He asked slowly, watching as the quarian's eyes narrowed behind a gray visor. "I've been comatose for almost two years, only reason I'm working with Cerberus now is because they were the ones who managed to wake me up. Humor me?"

A nod came in reply before the words. "Cerberus wanted a human who had come onto the Flotilla for their own safety. They killed our people, and went so far as to try and blow up one of our ships to complete their own goals, whatever they were. As many as a thousand lives were put in jeopardy… Even in one of the best case scenarios that all the ships in that section of the Fleet had been far from one another."

Shepard's own eyes narrowed behind his helmet as he looked back at Jacob and Miranda, who were still talking, before he glanced at the three other quarians who had gathered a short distance away, Tali still seeming to be talking to her own squad leader over their comms.

"Thanks for the information, it was… Quite a bit more valuable than what I was given before."

The quarian nodded, seeming quite a bit more at ease now. "It's good to know that I can trust at least one of you humans to watch all of our backs."

"A lot easier than trying to shoot one another in the back, eh?" Shepard asked grinning slightly under his helmet. Even with both of their expressions covered, Shepard could tell that the Quarian was grinning similarly as he gave the slightest nod and went to join the rest of his squad.

_Although… I'm not sure if I'm through playing that game yet._ Shepard couldn't help but think to himself as he turned his attention to Miranda and Jacob as they approached.

* * *

><p><em>Shepard's alive.<em> The thought numbed her mind as she considered it again, barely controlling a shiver as she felt that same numbness run through her entire body and disappeared within an instant. There was no doubt in her mind that it was Shepard who had stood before her, no matter what the Cerberus operative had said. She swore that his emerald-green eyes had sparked in recognition when he had taken his helmet off, even if it disappeared after only a second.

Taking a deep breath, Tali reminded herself of exactly what he had said. They both had a mission to do right now, they'd best get it done. _Even if Cerberus takes him away as soon as they have whatever data Veetor might have… To have seen him again is- _Tali cut off the thought as she realized that it would end unfairly, selfishly. That he was back should be enough for her… Even as the feeling that it wasn't gnawed at the edge of her mind.

Tali shook her head slightly, clearing it for the mission ahead. Quala and Amri had already fallen in on her, and Telk was just walking over after speaking with Shepard, though she hadn't told any of the other quarians of his identity. It would be… Difficult to explain him working with Cerberus, especially with her having been a part of his squad two years ago, the hatred of Cerberus ran deep for most Migrant Fleet Marines.

Prazza had demonstrated that during their brief conversation, almost _refusing_ to cooperate. He had only relented at the very end of their conversation, saying that the whole 'company' of the three humans and four quarians would probably be able to double time it to the mission's final objective and help with the last push.

"At least one of the humans isn't an insufferable Cerberus xenophobe." Telk said as he got close to the group. When Tali looked over, she saw that Shepard and the other two humans had made their own small circle and were apparently discussing something. The Cerberus woman didn't look too happy as she spoke to Shepard, whose arms were folded across his chest.

There was an ever-so-slight movement behind Amri's visor as he lifted an eyebrow and looked at Telk. "What do you mean? I thought that it was always your habit to provoke the biggest guy on a joint operation so that you could make him look like a bosh'tet."

The brief pause before Telk's response told Tali that it was probably true as the quarian shrugged slightly. "Anyway… Like I said, at least one of them isn't going to try and shoot you in the back. Might even keep the others in line."

"Which one…?" Quala asked after taking a moment to examine the three aliens. There were a million different ways to differentiate them. How different humans were from one another seemed startling compared to how similar some of the other species members looked to one another.

The response came without a moment's pause. "The armored one."

Quala slowly brought her palm to her visor shielding her eyes with her hand. "Telk… Just because you can provoke a Migrant Fleet Marine into a fight on a joint operation and win doesn't mean you should go and try it with Cerberus operatives..." Amri appeared equally as amused by the fact, and Tali couldn't help but let out a laugh. Out of all the humans in the galaxy that Telk had tried to pick a fight with, he had probably picked one of the few who could put him down, easily. And the same man hadn't taken any offence and turned Telk's opinion halfway around.

As she took a quick look at the humans, she noted that they were all moving towards the group of quarians. Wordlessly, the two groups merged as Shepard asked. "Alright then, where to Tali?" His omni-tool opened as he accessed a program that rendered a three dimensional map of the area. He proffered his arm, and without hesitation Tali tapped the site that they believed Veetor had fled to.

"We should make it in time for the final push into the area… There's a concern that Veetor may have been able to hack some YMIR mechs that were used nearby though." The whole group began to move as soon as Shepard plotted a path on his own omni-tool and held it up briefly for the everyone else to copy individually.

"YMIR mechs?" Shepard asked, turning his head to look at her as they moved. In front of them, both Cerberus operatives had their weapons drawn and were checking for hostiles, similarly both male quarians flanked them, and Quala covered the rear.

Tali pulled up a simple profile on the mechs that had been in the mission's intelligence report. "YMIR Mech, Model 34-A Heavy Mech, outfitted with twin autocannons and a low-yield rocket launcher. Heavy shields and armor plating must be broken through before damage can be done to primary combat systems. Rated as extremely dangerous to against infantry."

It seemed to take Shepard a moment to digest the information. "So… How were you planning to destroy these things? Doesn't sound like a head to head fight would be too intelligent, especially not if there were any LOKI or FENRIS mechs supporting one of those."

"We'll set up some high-yield explosives, lure the heavy mechs onto them. Sweep out the remaining light mechs from cover. Prazza and everyone else should have enough time to set up before we get there." Tali said simply, even with the three humans providing additional support, Prazza would certainly continue with that phase of the plan.

Shepard nodded, rolling each of his shoulders before he responded. "Quick and easy… Good." It seemed like he was about to say more, but the lapse in the conversation steadily grew as they continued walking. Just as the silence was about to become unbearable, sounds broke out in the distance. The loud booms of explosions, followed by the pops of small arms fire.

Tali's eyes widened in disbelief, Prazza and the rest of the strike team should have just gotten to the extraction point a moment ago… If they had started the attack already there was no way that they would have set up the charges first. "Keelah…" She murmured as she tried to reach Prazza over the communication link, receiving only a signal that indicated that his communications systems were down.

The female Cerberus operative turned around, beginning to voice a question before Tali cut her off. "The rest of the strike team is trying to take the cargo bay. We need to get there, now." She watched as Shepard pulled the assault rifle off his back, nodding as he stretched slightly. Tali made sure that her own shotgun was secured on it's magnetic clasp as she broke out into a jog that within only a few strides broke out into an easy run.

_If Prazza is still alive after this… I just might kill him._

* * *

><p><em>Alright… So maybe it won't be quite so easy.<em> Shepard found himself thinking as he too broke out into a run behind Tali. Running was methodic, his feet touching the ground for only the briefest second before being back in the air as they did it in an easy and natural rhythm.

Still, he wasn't nearly as fast as the quarians. All of them outstripped him with ease, their bowed legs allowing them to bound past him with only a few long strides. Though, as he had to slide to bring himself to a near stop to round a corner, he couldn't help but notice that Miranda and Jacob were farther behind him than he was behind the quarians. A thought ran briefly through his mind on just how extensive the cybernetic implants Cerberus might have given him. Both of the Cerberus operatives were in peak physical condition and he outstripped them both without a problem.

The thought was pushed from his mind as he began to focus more on the running. Within only a few seconds he could feel them starting to burn, muscles that hadn't been used in two years suddenly straining themselves to their limits. It didn't register until a couple of seconds after he passed the slowest quarian that it had even happened.

A grin worked its way onto his face as he pushed himself even harder. He could feel a drop of sweat beading down his face, and his hard-suit's environmental system begin to kick in with a burst of cool air. Another minute and he passed a second quarian, ignoring the fact that his breaths were beginning to come in ragged gasps. An indicator popped up in the most upper-right corner of his vision, indicating that his suit was increasing oxygen levels.

Turning the next corner, Shepard suddenly heard the gunfire over the pounding of the blood in his own ears. Tali and the quarian who he had spoken to earlier were taking cover behind a crate that lie to right side of the colonies narrow 'street'. He leaned to his left, and stopped pumping his legs, dropping onto his side and sliding to the crate. Even before he was fully stopped, Shepard could feel the sweat dripping off his face, his lungs fighting to take in as much air as they could, heart pumping to deliver that same oxygen.

He lay his head against the ground, feeling the assault rifle he had forgotten that he was carrying as a weight on his armored chest. He still had definite limits… Even if they might not be human limits.

"Keelah. I didn't think that humans could keep up with us." Shepard heard as he continued to take deep breaths, watching as the oxygen level in his suit slowly began to decrease.

Tali's voice came only a second later. "Neither did I…" In only another minute, the other two quarians hit the crate, just as Shepard was beginning to really catch his breath. The sounds of gunfire were intense nearby, unrelenting, punctuated only by an occasional explosion.

"Will the other two make it here soon?" Tali asked him as he pulled up his omni-tool, pinging Miranda and Jacobs to see how far away they were. At best, it looked like it would take them another four or five minutes at their current speed. Shepard shook his head.

He was still winded as he answered. "No. Four minutes could mean four lives." He reached out, grabbing his assault rifle from where it lay right next to him. "We should move." Tali nodded wordlessly, standing with the others as one as they began to cautiously approached the sounds of combat.

It didn't take long before they found the fight. The docking-area had plenty of cover, with which the half-dozen remaining quarians had made an improvised barricade with, but the real indicator of how the fight was going were the bodies of another four that lay strewn on the ground in front of that barricade. Without thinking, the rifle was at his shoulder and Shepard had picked a target, a LOKI mech, and squeezed the trigger.

The round found it's mark, followed by three more. The mech collapsed to the ground useless as Shepard sprinted briefly and slid just as he had before into one of the crates that made up the barricade.

If his welcoming by Tali'Zorah and her squad had been an indication of how quarians as a whole felt about Cerberus, there was no indication of it now. They hardly acknowledged him as they kept firing at the mechs and taking cover whenever they had to. Adrenaline was pulsing through him, waves of liquid fire spreading throughout his body as he too exchanged small arms fire with the mechs.

Once, he briefly looked at Tali to see her omni-tool flaring up as she briefly pointed it at a mech and it collapsed, sparks flying from internal components. All of the others had seemed to gather around her as more mechs attempted to make their way towards them. Twice, Shepard had even seen FENRIS mechs jump the barricade, only to be torn apart by a hyper-velocity round mid-flight. Under all the noises, he noticed that there was one that seemed ever present. Loud thuds and crunches as something heavy slowly moved it's way towards the entrance of the cargo docks.

Then he noticed an arm make it's way around the corner of a house, dual mounted autocannons perched on it, followed by a torso and head, and finally by a second arm. As soon as it had clearance from the building, it began raining down fire from the autocannons. Shepard hit the ground as it swept the weapons in his general direction, two other quarians mimicking his actions only a second later as they became targets for the barrage of gunfire.

Suddenly, the noise of the autocannons briefly stopped, followed by a 'thunk' as something large seemed to be being chambered and a hissing sound as something approached. Shepard let go of the weapon in front of him and covered his head just before a missile exploded upon impacting the top of a pair of stacked crates only a few feet to his left. A second later, he could feel bits of debris falling on top of him as he scrambled to grab his rifle. Pulling the weapon up, he found that a half-ejected heat sink had solidified in it's ejection port, cursing, he pulled the machine pistol from his side and pulled the trigger.

Every weapon was trained on the YMIR mech, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, everything. As Shepard searched the emptied slots that were reserved for thermal clips on his hip, he realized that there was a damned grenade launcher strapped to his back.

Dropping his machine pistol, he pulled the weapon off his back, feeling it expanding to it's firing length as he brought it to the proper firing position. Suddenly, the huge mech in front of him seemed to take an interest in him, no doubt prioritizing him as a threat with his newfound weapon.

Shepard squeezed off the first round without a problem, the explosive charge slamming into the mech's kinetic barriers and actually taking them down, as the flash of bluish light told. Suddenly, the status of his own kinetic barriers began to degrade rapidly, the blue bar representing them on his HUD depleting as the YMIR mech's autocannons began firing.

A second, third, and fourth round from his grenade launcher rapidly followed the first. Shepard squeezed them off as rapidly as the triggering mechanism would allow. A part of his mind was acutely aware that he should be moving, avoiding staying in the path of the heavy mech for too long. But as the explosives slammed into the mech, one after another, the rational thought that the mech would be downed before it could hurt him at all took over.

He was acutely aware of sudden sharp pains that began in his upper right leg and worked their way up, stopping suddenly just below his chest when the explosions ripped through the mech. His right side seemed to jerk back, sending a final shot from the grenade launcher awry, and into another pair of mechs.

But the four explosives, combined with all the small arms fire had seemed to do it. The mech slumped, falling onto itself at an awkward angle before it exploded. The quarians all cheered, the explosion having destroyed a number of the mechs surrounding the YMIR, leaving only a few stray units to be dealt with. In just another moment's fighting, those mechs fell as well.

Shepard wanted to cheer with them, but strangely felt only a growing itch in his chest that made him want to cough. Wanted to take a step forwards, but felt his leg strangely disobedient, refusing to obey the command. Wanted to bend down to retrieve the grenade launcher that inexplicably fell from his now weak grip.

Surprised, Shepard found himself looking down, eyes widening as he saw the rivulets of blood that were forming between the plates of his armor that came from small holes.

After a moment of silence he suddenly succumbed to the itch in his lung, and the coppery taste of blood was brought to his mouth, droplets of the liquid forced up by the cough. The itch in his lungs suddenly multiplied, just as the pain hit him. He coughed again, which redoubled the itching and pain. Absently, Shepard felt his hand grasping at the top of the pain, at the lowest part of his ribs. Somehow, he was feeling just as winded as he had after running.

Another cough racked him, and then another, Shepard soon descended into a fit of them, clutching at the hole in his armor as noises of concern erupted around him. He spat the blood into his helmet, which meant that it merely pooled on one side of his helmet as he fell to the ground.

The sharp pains had been hyper-velocity rounds going through his body in less time than it could react to them. Starting just below his hip and leading to the bottom of his rib cage before the mech's aim had failed. The revelation hit Shepard in a moment, even as he heard his name being shouted and felt his head being lifted. He heard his helmet being separated from the rest of his hard-suit, gasps and exclamations as it finally came free.

He wasn't invincible. Not by a long shot.

His last memory before a red veil obscured his vision and hearing was that of a pair of luminescent eyes above him, a multitude of hands on his armored body, and his name being called.

* * *

><p><strong>Cannot wait for ME3 demo in eight days... HORRAH! I'll have my next chapter out before I devote myself to the demo entirely, on that you have my word.<strong>


	3. Chapter Three: Leave of Absence

**A/N Shorter than usual chapter, mostly because its pretty much all that I've actually managed to get done in the past few weeks. Plan on finishing a fourth 'section' to this chapter before next week… But don't hold me to it. **

* * *

><p>Shepard was alive, and laying not two feet from her. The impossibility and relief of the thought combined made Tali's head spin, just as it had the first time she had thought it almost three hours ago.<p>

She had tried to temper what she felt by reminding herself that it might not be Shepard, that whoever lay on the medical gurney might just be another sick Cerberus experiment, that the real Shepard was dead and gone.

Despite all the discouraging ideas that ran through her mind, she couldn't make herself believe that the human was anyone other than him. He had put himself into harms way too readily, trusted good people too easily, and seemed too sincere to be anything that Cerberus would create. She didn't understand the organization's motives in bringing him back, but for the first time, she was almost thankful for the pro-human group's existence.

Tali looked down at him again, watching his chest fall and rise methodically, three white bandages wrapped around his leg above the knee, four more taped to his hip, stomach, and lower chest, all slathered with medigel. Even with such liberal usage of the miraculous clotting agent, the bandages all had faint red blotches where the blood had refused to stay in his body.

His body had went into shock almost immediately after he had been hit, probably saving his life by slowing his heart rate considerably. As soon as Tali had seen that he was down, she made the split second decision to send him with the rest of the wounded to the quarian vessel in orbit, even before knowing that Cerberus would 'allow' her to do so. Shepard had saved her a hundred times before, wasn't it time for her to return the favor?

There had been two surprises for Tali when the surviving strike team reached their orbiting vessel. The first was simple, that the two Cerberus personnel approved of her actions. The female human, Miranda Lawson, had merely stated that she would be in contact in the next few weeks to see if Shepard recovered. The second surprise had been slightly stranger still; Shepard's body appeared to already be making progress on recovering from the injuries it had received, doing in less than an hour what should have taken a day.

Back from the dead for less than a week and he was already doing what seemed to be impossible. Tali smiled at the thought as she watched Shepard's chest rise and fall again. He had always done the impossible, and always made it look easy. Why should now be any exception?

The noise of someone clearing their throat made her attention snap to the doorway, where the ship's doctor stood, easily identifiable by the symbol of the flower which had stood for Quarian medicine for nearly a thousand years engraved in his pauldron. "Tali'Zorah, Veetor has been stabilized, so long as we rendezvous with the Flotilla within the next few days, there should be no further complications to his health."

Another weight disappeared off of Tali's shoulders, it hadn't been clear if the objective of their mission would make it, given the progress of the infection in his lungs. With Prazza killed in action, leadership had fallen to her, and it was up to her to complete the mission in the most effective manner possible. And with her leading the mission, it was almost assured that the Admiralty Board expected more.

She nodded at the tired doctor, aware that he had been tending to the injured constantly since they had arrived onboard, even though the medical stores onboard hadn't been adequate for the number of wounded. "Thank you Doctor, you've done well today. Half of the strike team owes you and your staff their lives."

A slight nod was returned as the doctor backed out of the small room, he hesitated in the small corridor. "Tali'Zorah…" He began after a moment's hesitation. "If you could ask the Captain of the Rayya on my behalf for a transfer off strike operations, I would be grateful. Saving lives is why I became a doctor… But choosing who lives or dies when I don't have enough antiseptic…" His voice trailed off as he gave a weak shrug.

Tali's mouth dried at the news; it wasn't her place to ask who had died, as she would inevitably see it on a casualty report in the next few hours. She understood losing people, but had never had to make a choice as difficult as whom to leave to die, and it wasn't something she ever wanted to experience. To have to make that choice as a doctor seemed even worse than to have to make it as a leader in combat.

"I'll see if I can get you a transfer." She said simply, watching as the doctor nodded again, relieved as he finally turned the corner, leaving her alone with Shepard's inert form.

Another casualty would bring the total up to eight deaths, over forty percent of the eighteen members of the ground team. It was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission, with the possibility of a light firefight, not a full out ground assault.

But with Prazza counted among the dead, all of the responsibilities that the situation gave would be hers. The one part of those duties that she absolutely dreaded was informing the friends and families of the deceased of their loss. She had only had the duty once before, and then only for a single member of the operation.

Tali squeezed her eyes closed as she sighed, already dreading the duty. Just as she began to try and think of ways to break the news as gently as she could, she noticed a change in the tone of Shepard's breathing, the only noise in the room other than the constant 'white' noise of the ship. She opened her eyes, cocking her head slightly as she watched him, concerned.

* * *

><p>Pain was the first thing to slam into Shepard's conscious mind.<p>

Breathing hurt… Shifting his body ever so slightly to try and avoid _that_ pain sent _another_ spike of pain ripping down his right side. As soon as both of those pains seemed to die down for a second, he couldn't help but notice that both of his legs were throbbing dully.

Shepard took a breath, ignoring the pain that he could feel within his lung as he did so, stretched out damaged muscles despite their protest, and finally opened his eyes. Oddly, before his eyes had even focused, his mind had somehow jumped to the conclusion that he was on board a turian space-faring vessel, even as he looked at the quarian in front of him.

It took him only another second to realize that the quarian was Tali'Zorah, as he recognized the color and patterns of the cloth on the envirosuit. Her head was tilted slightly to one side, as though concerned. Though, the amount of pain that he was feeling probably meant that whatever injuries he had sustained probably warranted a bit of concern.

Shepard moved his arm, placing his hand on his lower chest, surprised to find gauze, as well as a complete lack of armor. He lifted his head to see that he had indeed been stripped of his armor, as well as his shirt, and that there were gauze strips around his right leg and pads of gauze on his exposed torso. Shepard let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding, turning his head to look at Tali'Zorah as he gave a faint smile.

"I'm guessing that I owe you for patching me back up?" He asked slowly, noting that keeping his breathing calm and slow kept the worst of the pain away.

Tali nodded a single time, and Shepard noticed the slightest change in her posture when he spoke. "We owe you at least that much for taking down that heavy mech. It seems like even Cerberus is willing to give you a break after getting shot a few times."

The distaste in her voice at the mention of Cerberus was evident. For some reason, Shepard found that the name of the organization was beginning to foster a sense of distrust. His mind briefly went back to the conversation that he had with another quarian back on the mission. "What do you mean?"

Tali flicked her wrist, and immediately her omni-tool flickered to life. She held her arm out to him, and Shepard watched as the text assembled in front of him.

Tali'Zorah,

_Given the severity of the injuries that Shepard received on Freedom's Progress, as well as the proximity of the nearest Cerberus facility, we believe that the only viable option is for your medical staff to take charge of him._

Estimated time of his recovery with moderate medical care is in the range of two to three weeks. After such a time, we will seek his release back to Cerberus, and will compensate for any costs associated with his care. Given the facts that you were once one of his crew, and have already taken him off-planet and informed us of his injuries, I assume that he is already undergoing medical procedures.

I will contact you again within the next twenty hours if you do not send a report of the Commander's status changing from critical to a more normalized condition.

_-Miranda Lawson_

Shepard's eyes narrowed at the tone he interpreted in the words. The way that he was being spoken about seemed like he was a tool rather than a person, an investment that Cerberus had made and expected a return on. _And if I died, they would probably bring me back within the next six months. There's going to be no escaping these people._ Shepard found himself thinking as Tali pulled her arm back and turned her omni-tool off.

"So. Besides this, what is it about Cerberus that you and your people don't like?" Shepard asked as he slowly turned onto his side, ignoring the pain that flared as he turned his hip.

"Most quarians distrust Cerberus because of the attack on the Idenna, they were after a human biotic and somehow managed to infiltrate the Flotilla with a small ship full of explosives. They put hundreds, if not thousands of lives in danger. Though, most don't know that it probably isn't the worst thing that they've done. If they knew what happened to Admiral Kahoku and his men… Or half a dozen of the other operations that we shut down." Tali shook her head in disgust.

"We, as in the team on the Normandy?" Shepard asked slowly, though he was fairly certain that the he vaguely remembered the Admiral's name. Strangely, it didn't bring a face to mind, but instead a giant… _Thing._ Something that spelled death, spewing something that melted metal, flesh, and bone, slashing death with razor sharp claws that could tear through vehicles with ease.

Tali tipped her head slightly. "Back before you… Well…" She trailed off, as though afraid of offending him.

He briefly raised the shoulder he wasn't leaning on before speaking. "Died. I agree though, it'd all be a lot easier if I just had the decency to live through atmospheric re-entry and the Normandy falling apart around me."

The statement earned him a single laugh from Tali before she agreed with him. "It would have been nice."

"So. Since I did, and have next to no idea what happened before that, it might be nice to learn everything I can while I have the opportunity." Shepard took a deep breath, ignoring the pain as he slowly pushed his body into a sitting position. It screamed in protest, and his vision seemed to have blurred slightly by the time that he sat on the edge of the table he had been laying on. "I'm even fortunate enough to find one of the forty or so people out of uncountable millions who could tell me, first hand, who I was just over two years ago." He said through a grimace, taking shallow breaths to avoid the pain.

"If you've got the time." Shepard added after a moment's thought. After all, as far as he was aware, she held a position of command aboard the ship, and probably had a number of duties that she needed to attend to.

To his mild surprise, she nodded. "Of course. Although, you could probably accomplish much the same thing by reading one of your biographies." Tali said, her body language showing that she was mildly amused by the confusion that briefly crossed his face.

"A dozen biographies?" Shepard asked, incredulous. Tali's omni-tool turned on again and she deftly manipulated it for a moment before responding. Luminescent eyes opened slightly wider behind the mask as she seemed to find whatever she was looking for.

"Sorry. Seventeen as of last month, all published posthumously." Tali laughed as Shepard slowly brought his hand to his face, wondering how other people would find out enough about his past life to put something together. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure that they were considering making a full vid based portions of the best written one."

"Good to see that the media found a use for me." Shepard said with a dry grin as Tali laughed again.

* * *

><p>Tali's hand hovered over a report that she should have finished an hour ago, trying to get the thoughts of the ship's unexpected addition out of her mind, to no avail.<p>

There was no doubt about it, it was definitely Shepard back from the dead, not some other Cerberus experiments. She had talked with him for almost two hours today, straying from the original topic after only about forty minutes. Since then, it seemed that she had spent a better deal of the time talking about her people, answering Shepard's questions to the best of her abilities.

The conversation seemed just as natural as those that had occurred two years ago had. They had a few good laughs, mostly at the expense of the Normandy's former crewmembers, whom Shepard seemed to slowly be recalling. At several points, he even seemed to be recalling things on his own, like Garrus's obsession with the Mako.

On the same token, there had been the exact same nerve-wracking quality to the conversation for Tali as there had been two years ago. Shepard's light green eyes seemed to pierce right through her visor when he listened to her. She had caught herself stumbling on her words at least twice when she had been all too aware of the fact.

But for the entire duration, Shepard had been exactly what she had remembered from the Normandy. Attentive when she spoke, asking a question when he couldn't see or understand some small detail, witty whenever the questions were directed at him, charismatic… Tali cut off the train of thought as she began to get off track, her thoughts beginning to run rampant.

Stretching her fingers, Tali began to type into the holographic keyboard. Less than a full three lines of script into it, she noticed someone standing in the doorway to the small area that served as her work area and quarters. Black envirosuit, silver threading, the decorations filled with sharp lines, Tali leaned back for a second trying to put a name to the combination. On route to Freedom's Progress, the crew hadn't really interacted with her too much. Everyone knew that she would only be here temporarily, and her titles as daughter of Admiral Rael'Zorah, and as the 'Hero of the Flotilla' were probably slightly intimidating.

Telk. The name came to mind suddenly as she finished what she was typing and turned towards him. "Telk, do you need something?" She asked, standing up as he nodded and took a step into her quarters.

"Is it really Shepard vas Normandy?" He asked simply, the bluntness of his question not surprising to Tali.

This was her seventh operation with the Migrant Fleet Marines, and she had long since noticed that when one had a question, they would ask it, and wanted an answer just as simple. So she obliged him and nodded. "It is, he's back from the dead."

"Are you sure that it really is him though, not some Cerberus experiment?" Telk asked warily. It dawned on Tali that she should have spoken with the crew immediately after bringing Shepard onboard rather than having someone seeking her out to try and find answers.

"As sure as I can be after talking with him. I would agree that since it was Cerberus that brought him back, we might have to be cautious. But I can tell you, the Shepard that I knew wouldn't ever have anything to do with Cerberus, or any of their goals, and I believe that it really is him." Tali said slowly, deliberately.

Telk looked at her for a moment before heading for the doorway. "I accept your judgement on that, Ma'am, and I'm sure that the rest of the crew will as well, especially the rest of the ground team. We really pulled them out of the fire back there… And it probably would've went a lot worse if Shepard hadn't been there." He seemed slightly hesitant.

"Is something bothering you?" Tali asked just as Telk seemed like he was about to duck out of sight. Reluctantly, he turned back to face her.

"It's just… It's obvious that Cerberus modified him in some ways. I've never heard of a human that could manage to keep up with a quarian running. I just wonder if they've got any cybernetics in his head, to keep him reigned in. After all, it was well known that Shepard wasn't exactly fond of Cerberus before he died... Keelah, a lot of people would believe you if you said that it was Cerberus behind his death!" Telk said slowly.

The realization that Telk's fears were definitely warranted given the nature of Cerberus made Tali's eyes widen slightly. She nodded at him after a moment's thought. "Regardless. There isn't much we can do here to see if that's true or not. Once we return to the Flotilla, we could send him off to one of the medical ships to make fully sure that something like that isn't the case."

Telk gave a final nod as he turned and walked down the narrow corridor of the ship, headed directly towards the section of the ship in which he and all the others were quartered.

The thought that Shepard might be some sort of Cerberus time bomb tainted the fact that he was alive. Tainted the fact that he was on the same ship as her as they headed towards her home, which he had seemed enthusiastic to see. Tali could feel a pit forming in her stomach as she bit her lower lip, imagining what could possibly go wrong if what Telk had suggested were true.

She tried to push the thought away as the holographic keyboard of her desk flashed back to life in front of her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Remember to review. It makes my day. ^_^**


	4. Chapter Four:  Barely Human

**A/N I've decided to restart writing this stuff after quite the long hiatus... It's been forever, I know, forgive me if you're feeling particularly kind. I've been doing lots and lots with the Mass Effect universe still (ironically, at a site known as Mass Effect Universe on Zetaboard, an online forum RPing site, if you're interested). But, I'm back with a new installment of this story for anyone who's truly interested.**

**So sit back, get your reading glasses on, and enjoy the story.**

* * *

><p>It was more of a dull pain now, rather than the incredibly sharp sensation that there had been when he'd woken up yesterday from unconsciousness. Now... When he woke up, it was just a dull throbbing in parts of his body, especially in his stomach and hip.<p>

But it was a hell of a lot better than it'd been yesterday. Yesterday, he'd done his best to merely grin and bear it when he'd been talking to Tali. The conversation had intrigued him, yes. It'd been great to have the chance to talk with someone who knew him for who everyone expected him to be. But he'd been painfully aware of how badly his wounds had been bothering him throughout the entire conversation. As such... He'd been a bit less attentive than he was sure he'd be otherwise, a bit less observant as his mind sometimes went to the spikes of pain he could feel running through his entire body.

Today though... He felt a lot better after a full nights sleep after Tali had left. He'd basically fallen right back onto the medical table and passed right out. Actually... Something told him that he was feeling a lot better than he would have in any other situation.

So much better that he swung his legs of the side of the table after he pulled himself upright and tested his weight on his legs as he slowly eased himself it I put weight on his still tired legs. A single sharp pain came from a damaged nerve when he accidentally put too weight on his right leg, his hip screaming at him in protest. He staggered forwards, catching himself on another medical table that was two or three forwards from the table he'd been on.

Shepard let out low hiss as he straightened himself, keeping an arm on the table to keep weight off of the leg as he waited for the pain to dull slightly. He massaged the area that hurt with his other hand as he balances against the medical table, allowing himself to let out another slow breath as he recovered from the surprise that he was still in that much pain from the wounds.

How long will it take for me to get back up to where I was just yesterday...? He couldn't help but wonder to himself as he steadied himself, taking a tentative step forwards in the cramped room, glad when his leg didn't give out beneath him. Looking good... Shepard told himself, happy with the fact that it seemed like he would be a bit more mobile today.

Maybe he could find Tali'Zorah, talk with her for a bit... Maybe surprise her by the fact that he was already able to walk around, or... Well, hobble at least. Yesterday, the way that Tali had been talking with him and the tone of Miranda's email had both seemed to believe that it'd be a week or so before he'd even be out of the bed. Good to see that he'd continue to impress.

"Commander Shepard?"

Shepard turned to the voice that appeared. Obviously. It was a Quarian, with some type of unfamiliar symbol on it, but the same sterile white and red that he somehow drew parallels to medicine from. The sudden noise startled him slightly, and he was aware that he might've turned a bit too quickly when another pain flared in his side.

"What in the name of the ancestors do you think you are doing on your feet?". The Quarian asked him slowly... By the build, it looked like it was a male Quarian, by the suit, some type of medic or doctor. Probably not the best person to catch him out of bed. The tone of his voice told it all... Surprised, and a little perturbed by the fact that he was out of bed. It was probably best if he just apologized and explained that he was feeling a hell of a lot better.

"Sorry... Just decided to see if I would be able to move around." Shepard said after a second, shrugging as he made his way back to his own impromptu bed, very aware of the Quarian's glowing eyes on him as he made his way back. He got a very distinct impression that screwing around with someone in the medical field wasn't a good thing... Especially not while he was still under their care.

He sat down on the edge of the table, turning to look back at the Quarian, who was typing furiously into his omni-tool. There was a moment of silence before the doctor looked back to him, his stance seeming to speak more of the surprise that'd been in his voice just a moment earlier. The doctor muttered something beneath his breath as he actually entered the room, gathering a few instruments and placing them together on a table before he spoke.

"Keelah... I wasn't even expecting that you'd be up, Commander.". He said slowly, shaking his head. "Let alone walking around. You took a round right in the hip, by all rights you should be bedridden for the next few weeks.". There was a certain amount of uncertainty behind the statement, but it was behind another layer of wonder at the fact.

Shepard blinked at the statement, taking a moment or two to think about the fact himself. Yesterday, when he'd gone down, his body had simply refused to move when he'd commanded it to. Unnatural as it had been, maybe the reaction had something to do with his rapid recovery. He was thinking about the fact that he seemed to be surpassing all the rates of recovery everyone believed he would have to adhere to when the Quarian continued.

"The fact that you are managing to stand is… Astounding, actually, Commander. I've brushed up a little bit on your species, medically. Your body is healing at an… Extraordinary pace, Commander." He said slowly, bringing up a few diagrams on his omni-tool. They all seemed to be of human systems, the skeleton, the various organ-systems and other medically relevant data. "After the injuries you sustained, by all rights, you should have died. Again, if what I'm told is true." The Quarian said slowly, shaking his head as he closed the holograms, looking at Shepard. "Do you mind if I run a few scans, see what it might be that's allowing you to heal so quickly?" The question was asked hesitantly, as if the Doctor were afraid of offending him.

It took a moment's thought before Shepard silently nodded his consent to the Quarian. He had to weigh the idea briefly… Cerberus probably wouldn't be too happy with the tech they'd spent so much money on being examined by anyone else. But if it looked like he was avoiding showing the Quarians his implants, they might think that there was some ill-intent behind them. Something inherently 'bad' about whatever the cybernetics in his body were. And the more he'd thought about it recently… The more he'd realized that Cerberus' opinions didn't matter to him nearly as much as he'd thought they would.

They'd brought him back from the dead. In his mind, all that he owed them was a thank-you. He didn't owe them the remainder of his life. Now that there was a possibility of him getting into real contact with those who knew him from before he died… People who he felt her could inherently trust. Maybe he wouldn't be forced into working for the whole organization after all.

"Go for it." He said after nodding, the Quarian appearing relieved as he nodded, and began to show the Commander how he wanted him to sit for the various scans he would be subjecting himself to.

* * *

><p>Tali was tired when she woke up… She'd worked late into the third cycle to finish her reports, and a half a dozen other things to do with the mission's aftermath. Normally, she'd have managed to get even more done over the course of time that she'd used to tear through the deskwork. But Shepard had been on her mind. And whenever she found herself getting distracted, her thoughts slowly and inevitably turned to her old Commander.<p>

_Shepard…_ She slowly thought to herself as she slowly stretched in her own cramped personal quarters, her mind turning back to the topic as she slowly began to let her mind wander as she allowed herself to half-doze again.

The human who was only fifty feet away from her, who had survived a million things… Including death itself.

The man who had saved her from almost certain death on a half-dozen occasions, each time putting himself into danger to ensure that she wasn't. Who she'd done the same for on an equal number of occasions, elated even when her only reward was his gratitude. The man who'd shown her how to be a leader… Drawn together the squad that she missed. The squad who, despite their difference, had managed to save the galaxy.

Well over two years ago, she could still remember the exact moment of realization for her that she had a 'crush' on the Commander. And quite honestly, she had managed to put it all away, to tell herself that it'd been some childish thing that would go in passing. It made her feel good though, to see that both Ashley and Liara had made passes at him to be gently rebuked. She figured that it'd been the allure of just how… Perfect, Shepard seemed. No matter how often he admitted otherwise, no matter the rare moments where he certainly fell below the line of being perfect. He was a god amongst men, in her eyes two years ago.

But… She'd realized of course, that it might just be a fancy, something that she just wanted because she saw him through such a lens that he could do no wrong. For a few weeks, back on the Normandy, she'd done her absolute best to see him for exactly what he was… She'd done her best to cast away the ideas she'd held about him briefly, judging him on merely the present.

It'd made her even more bashful whenever she spoke with him. He made a point to talk with everyone on the combat team frequently, as well as with the rest of the ship's crew. He also had made it a point to keep order on his ship, to place incredible values on equality among his crew, and justice whenever something happened.

She could remember an incident with Pressly… He'd made some comment that she'd found vulgar, regarding not trusting Quarians as technicians when he'd been talking to Chief Engineer Adams. Tali had decided to make a few… Vocal remarks in return to the XO. From there, it'd descended into a bit of a shouting match over the intercoms. Human and Quarian vulgarities had flown in both directions, the tempers of both of the normally calm members of the Normandy's crew at a breaking point after they'd just lost Kaidan on Virmire.

It'd been enough that it caught Shepard's attention… Enough so that he called both her and Pressly up to what the humans referred to as 'Captain's Mast', a term for when the ship's Captain was able to hand out low-level punishment for any infractions that'd been committed on board his ship. Tali had been quite terrified, and Pressly equally so as they'd both sat opposite one another at the Mess Hall, waiting for Shepard to dole out whatever punishments he deemed fit for the entire episode.

His 'sentence' at first had seemed like it would be impossibly difficult, and mind-numbingly difficult to both Tali and the Normandy's XO. They would have to tolerate one another's company for an hour a day until Shepard said otherwise. On the time that they weren't working their own posts… On free time.

After only a few days, the silence that went on between the two during the time they were forced to be in one another's company was broken. Two days after that, that they both had vast knowledge on their respective peoples' history was found out. For another week and a half afterwards… They'd spent the whole time allotted to them, and sometimes more, explaining to one another their cultures and their peoples' history. It'd went from a time that they both certainly dreaded, and blamed the other entirely for, to something that they both looked forwards to.

As probably the most xenophobic of the Normady's crew… Getting Pressly to turn around and finally admit that he'd been wrong was a fairly major turning point for the whole crew. And for Tali specifically, when she'd realized that the whole 'punishment' had actually been quite the gift, with how she and Pressly had worked everything out. In the end, she'd even thanked him once, when they'd been talking for what his decision had been.

And there he was… Not more than fifty feet away from her, through a few bulkheads. Back from the dead.

And that was how easily her mind wandered to the subject. Tali realized it as she opened her omni-tool to check the time since she'd woken up…. She'd been sitting there for almost ten minutes. Ten minutes of her own time that she'd wasted, along with time that the rest of the ship's crew could have used if they needed her. She was being selfish and lazy again.

A little frustrated with herself, Tali sat on the side of her bed, beginning to scroll through the messages on her omni-tool, starting with the oldest. Most were just status updates that required her to check off on them… That the ship's systems were all in line, that nothing was about to explode, basically.

A few minutes passed as Tali went through the long list of the periodic status checks, occasionally answering an email that'd come from a crew-member regarding some question usually regarding how something was done. Even as the commanding officer of the ship right now she was still regarded as the ship's authority on tech, as the chief engineer. Even for a Quarian, Tali knew that her tech skills were nearly unparalleled, and so did all of her subordinates. So they all took advantage of it where they could, and she did her best to help them with whatever minor problems they had with the ship's systems, or with ideas that they might have to make small improvements. All in all, it was something that didn't bother her too much and was something that helped to get the ship to run more efficiently more times than not. So… Sacrificing a half hour or so of her morning wasn't the worst thing in the world. Today though, there were a lot of questions it seemed, and all of her responses took a good forty minutes.

Tali couldn't help but groan as just when she finished sending her last reply to a query about how some wiring could be re-done her omni-tool rang out with the sound of another message.

_So close…_ She thought to herself with a sigh as she reluctantly pulled it up, having it immediately grab her attention when she saw the subject and the sender.

From: Caern'Rein vas Neema

_To: Tali'Zorah vas Neema_

_Subject: Commander Shepard vas Nada_

_Went on my rounds just a little while ago, your old Commander was already out of bed, walking around. Out of curiosity last night I was looking up a little bit about humans medically… Obviously regarding him being a patient. Based on his injuries, he shouldn't be up and walking around. Not that he shouldn't based on doctor's orders, but by all righs that he literally should not be able to use his legs for days afterwards._

_Naturally, I was curious as to why his rate of healing was so high. Asked the Commander if I could take a few scans, see what cybernetic implants he might have that may be expediting the processes. He allowed it, so I took a few scans. Honestly… Medical expertise here might be less valuable than technical the implants are literally that extensive._

_Please come down to medical ASAP to review the results with the Commander and myself._

_Caern'Rein Vas Neema, Doctor of the Fleet._

Tali got to her feet, stretching in her confined personal quarters… Just enough room for a bed and a desk, but still, her own personal space. If Caern really wanted her to see this, it must be a matter of some concern for him, it'd probably be best to go down and do whatever he wanted immediately. She owed him that much for all the work he'd done last night… Trying to perform as many damned miracles as he could after the disaster of a mission on Freedom's Progress. That, combined with the fact that it was something to do with Shepard meant that it'd be her first take of the day.

She opened her room's door, stifling a yawn as she headed out in the direction of the small quarantine med-bay. She wondered how much desk-work she'd be saddled with today if the Fleet had managed to receive the entire log of what she'd sent yesterday. If she was lucky… They'd moved farther from com-buoys than they'd been right after the mission and the lapse between sending and receiving would be long enough to give her a break.

* * *

><p>Honestly… Most of the time that Caern had spent last night reading into the basics of human anatomy had been completely wasted. When he was looking through the immediate results to the scans, his very first reaction had been to send and emial to Tali'Zorah to get her opinion on this. She was the Fleet's authority on tech, and she'd worked with the Commander before.<p>

Maybe there was some way that she could explain how the Commander might not even qualify to be a human.

Caern had always thought that it was them that it was the Quarian people who had been on the cutting edge of cybernetics and other implants. It was one of their very few ways in which they might be able to one-day shed their trademark exosuits even without returning to the homeworld. But… Keelah… Shepard's implants made their most cutting edge technology seem almost pathetic.

Add that to the fact that something like half of his body mass seemed to be implants or other artificial structures, and that the other half carried trademarks of augmented cloned tissue. Most of the vital systems also seemed to be abnormal… His nervous system more direct, muscle fibers and bones both much denser than the norm.

He'd been a little… Wary, of the Commander being the real thing since he'd come on board. What were the chances of a dead man literally being brought back to life after two years?

But given the obvious levels of technology that'd been put into the man… It just might completely true. The technology was amazing, but could the have really outfitted anyone with such an extensive number of cybernetics without literally killing them? Would it really requite so much to actually bring someone back from the dead? Caern's knowledge of technology was up to par, especially in anything at all related to the Medical field… But this, this was way above his league.

Even Shepard seemed to be fairly impressed by the scan results as he looked at them by Caern's side as they both waited for Tali'Zorah.

* * *

><p>Quite amazing… The amount of equipment in his body that wasn't really his own. That was artificial, put in him to keep him alive once Cerberus had brought him back from the dead. Apparently, his heart, liver, and lungs weren't even functioning the same way that they really ought to. They'd been made to be more efficient… To be able to do their respective jobs a dozen times better than they had before. The composition of his blood, based on a relatively simple test that the doctor requested a blood sample for showed that his oxygen carrying capacity was almost sixty percent higher than what they read was the norm.<p>

And those three systems didn't even seem to count for half of the modifications and implants that'd been given to his body. Throw in most of his nervous system being synthetic, modified muscle fibers and enhanced bone structures as well as things that the doctor told him he couldn't find the reason behind and then you seemed to have it all down.

Really… Whatever Cerberus had done to him had made him barely fit the definition of being human anymore. He was more made out of bits and pieces, few of them being original parts. The doctor even said that a lot of the tissue carried certain genetic tags that were usually associated with cloned tissues.

The doctor, Caern, had actually suggested that he bring Tali down to take a look at a few of the implants whose functions he couldn't recognize. The engineer's proficiency with just about every type of tech might be able to explain some of the things that neither of them could figure out. Plus… Shepard couldn't help but feel that the unknown implants that he had might very well be a matter of concern for Caern. After all, he had apparently been brought back to life by one of the very few organizations whom the Quarians had an outstanding vendetta against.

When the door opened, Shepard looked up briefly to acknowledge Tali before gesturing to the hologram that showed a number of the scans results compiled into one representation. Caern stripped away a number of the systems… Bringing into view much more clearly the specific implants that Shepard and he had been talking about the purposes behind.

"Seems like Cerberus gave me more than a few improvements." Shepard said slowly as he pointed to the hologram as Tali approached slowly. "I'm pretty sure that the good doctor wants to know what some of the stranger implants might be doing." He said as he looked at the doctor, and pointed towards the hologram. Caern nodded, and pulled his own hands off of it so that Shepard could manipulate it. "I wouldn't mind knowing either…" He said slowly as he went to one place in particular.

Right to his skull, where there appeared to be something right in his brain.

"What is that…?" He asked slowly, stepping aside as he noticed that both Caern and Tali's eyes widened slightly. Caern, likely since he might have wanted to broach the topic later with Tali in private in case it was some… Control, that Cerberus may have outfitted him with. But Shepard wanted to know, now, if the organization had actually done that.

If they'd brought him back from the dead, why were they so afraid of him going off on his own if it were some type of control? Why were they so intent on him not knowing anything about them? Ever since he'd had a chance to talk with the Quarians on the ground team… His trust of the organization who'd brought him back to life was certainly diminishing rapidly.

Tali took control of the hologram, and slowly began to inspect the device in question. Shepard felt the hairs on the back on his neck seem to straighten as he contemplated the idea that his mind might not even be his own… _If Cerberus is actually somehow controlling my mind or actions, or has some way to read them. _He hated the thought that anyone else might be able to literally be inside of his head, hated the idea that someone could, without his knowledge hear or see into his inner thoughts.

When Tali let out a sigh of relief, Shepard did as well. Whatever it was, it couldn't be as bad as he might've thought, could it?

"It looks like… Well… A port for some other implant. But it isn't hooked into anything, so wouldn't have any effects as it is. So whatever they might've planned to put there to do, whatever it was they wanted to do… It isn't there." Tali said slowly, doing her best to not broach the subject of the one thing that they'd all been thinking might have been there. As she slowly pulled changed the view to the rest of the body, the mood in the room lightened a bit more. "But… Keelah, you weren't kidding about him having extensive implants, Caern."

The doctor nodded, "I've honestly never seen anything even remotely like it… It makes the members of our strike teams look like they haven't got too many implants." He said slowly, shaking his head as he looked over to Tali. Shepard raised an eyebrow as he wondered about the statement, before Tali responded.

"They don't… A half dozen or so standard implants for Migrant Fleet Marines, maybe a few more if they've proven to need them. I guess though that you might be right… Our strike teams tend to need a few more." She said slowly, shrugging as she looked at the hologram, changing the contents of the display to see a few different 'layers' of it. "I probably have more than most of the strike team though..." She said slowly as she zoomed in on something in particular that appeared to be directly beneath Shepard's kneecap. Without really noticing, Shepard found his own hand on his right knee as he listened to the conversation.

"How many implants to you have, Tali?" Shepard asked after a moment's silence as Tali seemed to be examining another piece of hardware.

She turned to him, seemed to have to think about it for a moment. Caern had also turned to him, his eyes slightly narrow, as if he might've broached a topic that he shouldn't have before Tali answered and he looked back to the hologram, shrugging off whatever he might'e been thinking. "Fifteen. Only four of them were really major though." She said simply, before returning to the hologram. "Nothing compared to you though." She said, gesturing to the hologram, the slight edge to her voice that meant she was smiling beneath the mask evident. Shepard laughed lightly in reply as he acknowledged that it was certainly true…

"Fair enough, I suppose that you're probably considering taking half the parts out and making the ship run a little bit better with them, huh Tali?" Shepard asked back, rewarded with a slight laugh from Tali as she shrugged and began to explain, more to Caern, what she thought one particular device might be used for. Christ… He was barely human at all, mostly made from cloned parts and cybernetics. Optimized for combat…

That might not necessarily be a bad thing, especially if his line of work was still going to be combat.

* * *

><p><strong>I love comments.<strong>


End file.
